Dallas sheriff, Michael Monnig, Ebola negative

The Dallas Sheriff deputy who entered the apartment where the late Ebola victim, Thomas Eric Duncan was sick for days, has tested negative for Ebolavirus, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) earlier today.

Deputy Michael Monnig had been admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital for evaluation after the deputy was sick with fever.

Dr. David Lakey, Texas health commissioner said the risk was very low to start with as Monnig did not have contact with the Ebola patient, as Duncan was already admitted to the hospital.

The state approved the test for Ebola after consulting with doctors at Presbyterian and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This will be the third person tested for Ebola at the state public health laboratory in Austin. The first was the Dallas patient who tested positive, and the second was a patient from the Houston area who was negative. The Austin lab is one of only 13 in the nation that can test for Ebola.

An Ebola test will return a negative result until a person has enough virus in their system to be detected, and that may not occur until after symptoms have been present for at least a day.